I was speaking to my son, Asher about the biblical account of creation. He was confused about the fact an animal in the garden could talk, so it was a good opportunity to address an important question. It represents a "grenade" some atheists believe they can toss in the direction of those who believe in God and take the Bible seriously. Think Bill Maher in Religilous: “How can you believe in a talking snake?”

I wanted Asher to understand how this puzzle piece fits into the big picture. The real issue is not the nature of this creature. It's not even whether or not you hold a literal interpretation of the Bible, e.g., the book of Genesis. The issue is how do we make sense of the world?

Bill Maher can’t make sense of a talking snake? Many atheists believe the following: the universe came into existence from nothing, living things emerged from non-living matter, and human consciousness is a physical byproduct of brain chemistry. In terms of demonstrating a high level of credulity, this is already off the chart.

How do you get something from nothing? How do you get life from non-life? How do you get mind from matter?

How can people make sense of a talking snake? Well, how can Maher et al. make sense of a talking anything?

​There are a lot of things I like about Bill Maher – he asks a lot of the right questions. However, it’s dangerous to throw stones when you live in a glass house. A godless outlook on life cannot explain these things. What’s worse, it completely undermines them. Everything we learn about the natural world tells us you don’t get something from nothing - naturally, you don’t get life from non-life - naturally, and you don’t get mind from matter - naturally.

Naturalism is a worldview that comes crashing down, naturally.

Back to my conversation with Asher.

Christians can makes better sense of the world, others and ourselves. Why? We believe in an all powerful God who is able to create something out of nothing, breathe life into non-life, and make mind operate in relation to matter. We can explain a talking man, a talking serpent or even a talking donkey.

The Christian worldview stands strong, supernaturally.

My responsibility to my son, Asher is not to teach him to bash people over the head with the Bible. I need to share good reasons to believe the Christian worldview paints a true picture of this broken world. Rejecting the existence of God doesn’t answer life’s ultimate questions, it plunges us into greater confusion. That’s why Christians need to ask these questions, as well as answer them - with love, gentleness and respect.

The popular culture may present Christians are religilous, so we have a responsibility to communicate good reasons to believe we know the truth. That may sound like a bridge too far for some people, but that’s why I wrote A Jigsaw Guide to Making Sense of the World and A Jigsaw Guide to the Meaning of Life. These resources will help you (and your family) share your faith with confidence.